Costa Rica is one of the best travel destinations in Central America. It has everything one could want; eco-tourism being the speciality of the house.

Some of the principal mountain ranges are volcanic. Visitors can access many of these sites, scattered throughout the country. In the province of Cartago, not far from the capital of San José, you will find Irazú volcano which erupted in the early sixties. Poás volcano, located in the province of Alajuela, has one of the largest active craters in the world.

Beautiful forests grow in the crater of the dormant Barva in Heredia. Arenal, a young volcano in the northern part of the country, is constantly active (and is the site of a spa with natural hot springs). The country's highest peak, Mount Chirripó, is not volcanic; it measures 12.412 feet (On a clear day one can see both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans from atop Mt. Chirripo).

The bulk of Costa Rica's borders, sixty-five percent, is made up of coastline. Costa Rica has some of the world's most beautiful and idyllic beaches. Although the coast is not heavily populated, a variety of tourism projects provide access to a great deal of the nation's beach areas...Within Costa Rica, the longest distance you will ever have to travel to get to a beach is 75 miles. So in a way, the country is like a large tropical island.

The capital of San Jose is the starting place for exploring the country. It is conveniently located in the centre of the country and all the bus lines stop here.The port of Limon on the Carribean Coast has quite a different atmosphere from the capital. Life is more laid back; reggae is the favourite kind of music. It is a good starting place to explore some of the beaches of the Carribean.

Part of the information courtesy of Travel Excellence